Chapter 637: Section 424: The Underwater Army
Ocean Nest.
Inside the cockpit of the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
A Magic Image was projected in front of the Fishman youth, revealing the scene just outside the Ocean Nest.
The Fishman youth was visibly shaken!
The image depicted a deep-sea valley.
In the dim light, an enormous Magic Array occupied the entire valley. Even the valley walls were carved with countless Magic Runes, forming intricate Magic Array lines.
The Ocean Nest was concealed within one side of the valley wall, where the magic runes and lines were most complex.
Beneath this wall, there stood an altar made from countless bones.
These bones came from various sea beasts, including the massive skeleton of a whale, the menacing teeth of sharks, and turtle shells, among others.
This was no simple assembly but was well-refined through alchemy, making the breath of all bones coherent and unified, achieving the Golden Level.
A Golden Level altar.
At that moment, standing atop the altar was an octopus person dressed in Priest robes.
Her body was similar to that of the Human Race, but instead of a human head, she had an octopus head. She had no hair and two eyes with no apparent nose, but her mouth was large. With her chin as a baseline, a circle of fine octopus tentacles, serving as whiskers, grew from the front to the back of her head.
This octopus person Priest had a milky-white head, with pink eyes, and a bulging chest, signifying she was a female.
What most concerned the Fishman youth was this octopus person’s aura.
Her Life Breath was unmasked, clearly showing she was a Holy Domain Level being! Not only that, but within her Life Breath, there were traces of Divine Arts and Spell auras. This indicated that the Holy Domain Level octopus person practiced both Divine Arts and Spells.
Currently, she was inspecting the altar and appeared very focused and serious.
Standing next to her was another octopus person.
This octopus person was quite small, almost like a minor, standing only about 1.5 meters tall, or even less.
The Fishman youth noted that this octopus person had a grayish-white body, but the head was dark green.
Despite his short stature, his body was robust and muscular, resembling a block of marble, and his chin tentacles were even more vigorous, though far fewer in number compared to the Holy Domain octopus Priest.
This octopus person also did not mask his Life Breath; he was a Golden Level fighter.
His octopus head was large, especially when the tentacles opened, which gave him a top-heavy appearance.
His tentacles were clearly trained, and at the moment, the four largest ones were each wrapped around an axe, a halberd, a knife, and a spear.
He was fully armored, well-armed, and his gaze continuously scanned his surroundings, apparently serving as the guard for the previously mentioned Holy Domain Level octopus person.
Apart from the octopus person Priest on the altar and the octopus guard below it, surrounding the altar were numerous other intelligent marine beings.
Fishmen were the most abundant, followed by octopus people. The Fishman youth also saw from the Magic Image Naga, mermaids, and even Sea Giants.
It was hard to imagine that such a diverse gathering of intelligent underwater races could join together.
Some set up coral houses, some lived in cave indentations in the valley walls, while others simply sat on the ground, sleeping in the open air.
Ordinary individuals made up half the group, and there was a vast number of Transcendents! Bronze Level, Black Iron Level, Silver Level, and up to Golden Level.
Just from the current Magic Image, the Fishman youth spotted three other Golden Levels!
Most of these intelligent sea beings were focused around the altar, kneeling and praying. The number was roughly 300.
Gradually, more and more individuals gathered around the altar, joining the group in prayer.
When the number reached around 500, a hubbub of chaotic noises suddenly erupted.
Then, water currents fluctuated, and a large school of fish and sea beasts were driven into the valley.
The school included Groupers, Lantern Fish, Batfish, Whales, Sharks, with Sharp Clawed Water Monkeys being the most numerous among the sea beasts.
The intrusion of fish and sea beasts did not cause chaos in the valley. The inner prayer circle didn’t even show the slightest disturbance, still immersed in their prayers, undisturbed.
Such a vast number of fish and sea beasts were directly driven to the altar.
The one at the back was still an octopus person.
Compared to the previous two octopus people, his build was the tallest.
His octopus tentacles were very thick, two in front, two at the back, extending downward like four robust arms.
His real arms resembled tree trunks, his dark skin was marked with bright red patterns, resembling countless blooming flowers.
The vivid red flower patterns not only covered his arms but were also depicted on the surface of his four octopus tentacles.
The octopus person, who drove fish and sea beasts to the valley, saluted the Holy Domain octopus person, seemingly reporting something, “jlglu…”
“gulujili,” the Holy Domain octopus person responded, slightly waving his hand.
The leading octopus person then bowed and retreated.
The Fishman youth could not understand even the Fishman Language, let alone the rare octopus language. Fortunately, their conversation was recorded by the Deep Sea Monster Fish, and later, the Tower Spirit could translate it.
The Fishman youth continued observing.
The sea beasts and fish were all driven to the vicinity of the altar.
The giant magic array began to operate, and the blazing brilliance ultimately flowed into the altar.
The altar burst out with a strong attraction, pulling the sea beasts and fish toward it. The sea beasts and fish violently crashed against the altar and were killed on impact.
The Golden Level altar was extremely sturdy.
The sea beasts and fish, like waves, broke into countless splashes of blood, while the altar, like a reef, stood immovably.
The bodies of the sea beasts and fish that died rapidly dissolved, leaving no flesh behind, only bones.
Various types of bones began to move on their own, assembling together with the Golden altar, making it even larger and more robust.
Occasionally, the ghosts of fish or sea beasts appeared, but in the blink of an eye, they were dissipated by the Divine Light emitted from the altar.
“This is a Blood Sacrifice!”
“Moreover, this is not merely a magic array,” the Fishman youth said with a grave expression as the magic array activated, emanating a multitude of Holy Runes. He even saw many Divine Texts piled up into a prayer.
“A magic array that integrates Divine Arts and Spells!”
“Holy Domain Level octopus priests, five at Golden Level!”
“Plus over thirty at Silver Level and more than a hundred at Black Iron Level, with at least two hundred at Bronze Level!”
“This is an ethnically mixed undersea army.”
Racial barriers are common. Normally, such a large-scale allied force would not emerge. However, considering that they appeared to share the same faith, gathering together became possible.
“But what exactly are they doing here?”
“Why perform a Blood Sacrifice?”
“And to whom are they offering this sacrifice? Could it be to the god Mei Lan?”
Looking at the magic image before him, the Fishman youth’s doubts were somewhat reduced, yet new ones emerged.
“Regardless, I am fortunate not to have turned into a ghost leaving the nest.” The Fishman youth felt relieved.
Had he done so earlier, he likely would have been discovered as soon as he emerged.
There was a huge array set up around the Ocean Nest, and there was also a mixed-race undersea army. The Holy Domain Level octopus priests were what the Fishman youth feared most.
She must hold a Divine Office rank higher than a bishop.
The Fishman youth was not confident that his Deception and Disguise Skill could conceal his presence from such a being.
The survivors from Mysterious Monster Island had never faced such a trial.
Indeed, the octopus priest was far more menacing than usual, simply because she was organizing a Blood Sacrifice!
This was an offering and a religious ceremony for the gods.
Such a grand-scale ceremony was sure to attract divine attention.
The Fishman youth had no confidence in deceiving a Holy Domain Level priest, let alone a god.
“Is there a relationship between this Holy Domain Level priest and the Holy Domain sea beasts in the nest?”
“The teleportation must be related!”
This was because the Fishman youth saw some “familiar faces” among the praying crowd. These familiar faces were those Fishmen who had previously transported in and eventually teleported away.
“So, what should I do next?”
With the intelligence gathered, the Fishman youth felt his situation was dire.
He had previously contemplated breaking the Ocean Nest, using a possible external group of sea beasts to distract the Holy Domain sea beast, thereby allowing the Deep Sea Monster Fish an opportunity to escape.
But now, that plan was equivalent to a death wish!
The sea beast group might lack intelligence, but the surrounding mixed navy, comprised almost entirely of intelligent beings, made it so.